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South Africa: Teachers demand protection

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South Africa: Teachers demand protection

Kamogelo Senna

Student teachers from North West University in Mahikeng marched against the killing and abuse of teachers by pupils on Thursday.

Joined by many community members and teachers from local schools, they called for protection.

They started at the university and proceeded to the North West Department of Education offices.

Amogelang Mokanyane, co-ordinator of the safety awareness campaign at schools, said they needed a police presence in schools during working hours. They also wanted pupils’ rights to be limited.

One of the organisers Paseka Molete, who is an education student, said they were taking action with heavy hearts.

This comes after many incidents of teachers being abused, attacked and killed by pupils in schools.

In the latest incident, teacher Gadimang Mokolobate was stabbed and killed by a 17-year-old pupil who is now in a place of safety.

“We are the most discouraged, yet expected to be motivated. We wrote this memorandum with tears because of the reluctance of those who are supposed to protect us.”

The marchers asked for harsh sentences and action against pupils who abuse teachers.

They said searches must be conducted and school governing bodies needed more power to run schools with teachers and to develop their own disciplinary measures.

They said the SA Council of Educators should not act only when it teachers were in the wrong.

They also wanted social workers and psychologists employed at schools to help troubled kids.

North West MEC for Education, Sello Lehari, accepted their memorandum and promised to respond.

Dunoon youths get opportunity to become film-makers

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Dunoon youths get opportunity to become film-makers

Peter Luhanga

A Cape Town non-profit film training organisation was selected out of hundreds of organisations worldwide to receive a United Nations Youth Solidarity Fund grant. The grant is administered by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations.

MyDunoon was one of only two organisations from Africa who applied for the grant. It has paid off well, with beneficiaries of the programme being nominated for an audience award in an international film project.

With the experience of seasoned filmmakers working for the organisation, MyDunoon used the funds to train youth in digital film production and introduce them to opportunities in the film and acting industry.

35 youths from Dunoon, some South African and some from neighbouring countries, were recruited to take part in the training that began in June and ran for three months. Lessons took place on weekends at Dunoon Sophakama Primary School. After lessons the participants went to locations within the township to film.

After learning film language, and the technical and creative skills required to produce films, the trainees shot six films in the township’s streets and informal settlement alleyways.

Of the six films, which are between seven and nine minutes long, three were submitted to this year’s annual 48 Hour Film Project. This is when people across the planet are given a weekend to make a film.

One of the trainees, 21-year-old Zizipho Gontsi, said that a short film her group produced was nominated for the best use of props and the audience award.

The film is titled Uhambo [The Journey]. It is about two people who get to know each other when they are faced with the challenges of being on a mountain together.

Participating in the creation of this short film has resulted in Gontsi receiving a scholarship to study a three-year film production course at City Varsity next year, she said.

Gontsi said the MyDunoon training taught her how to operate a camera, write a movie script, production management, cinematography, and design. The training, she said, focused on practical aspects rather than theory.

The training has also seen Tanzanian Nicas Pillu awarded a scholarship. “I feel good to have won a scholarship to study an eight-week course in acting,” said Pillu.

“I have been in South Africa since 2009. It is great to do what I have always wanted to do, but due to lack of funds I was unable to pursue my dreams,” he said.

The MyDunoon founder is Christine Fyvie. “We challenged them on prejudice and bias and told them the benefits of working with diverse people,” said Fyvie. “Through that we created films around the topic of diversity. The aim was to challenge the xenophobic attitude within the community. We did this through making powerful stories.”

Fyvie did not want to disclose how much funding MyDunoon received from the UN grant but according to the UNAOC website, the Youth Solidarity Fund awards grants up to $25,000 (approximately R350,000).

The short films were given a public screening in the Dunoon community hall on Heritage Day.

GroundUp.

Botswana: Association grows hockey in schools

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Botswana: Association grows hockey in schools

Keswetseng Samokunda

Botswana Hockey Association (BHA) has introduced development programmes to grow the sport.

The targeted areas include Kanye, Lobatse and Jwaneng in the southern part while in the northern part, the association targeted Maun, Kasane and Francistown.

Speaking during the Maun Hockey Club schools tournament held in Maun recently, BHA president, Unaswi Matebu, said the association worked to promote, develop and facilitate hockey throughout Botswana with emphasis on participation, interaction and enjoyment from a larger base of players.

The tournament brought together public and private schools.

Matebu said BHA also provided an opportunity for skills development through sport. “Because of limited resources, we have started in Maun schools where we introduced the sport. We want to attract more students and stakeholders so that they appreciate the sport code,” she added.

Matebu noted that in Maun, they managed to attract few schools of Moremi and Botswelelo Primary School as well as Leapotswe English Medium School.

She said they wanted to start from the roots hence, engaging primary schools.

She also appreciated that young people were falling in love with the sport, something that gave them hope that the sport would grow with time.

Matebu encouraged parents to let their children decide which sport they wanted to join, adding that hockey was as good as any sport.In addition, she said, hockey was also a high paying sport like football and athletics.

Matebu said they were working around the clock to meet  requirements of affiliating to Botswana Integrated Sports Association (BISA), which is an affiliate of Botswana National Sports Council (BNSC), and the Confederation of Schools Sports Associations of Southern Africa (COSSASA).

BHA was formed in August 1992 and affiliated to the Botswana National Sports Council, the Botswana National Olympic Committee, the African Hockey Federation and International Hockey Federation..

Matebu said they implemented sustainable programmes that promoted development of playing facilities, provision of equipment for development and provide opportunities for players to improve their performance levels.

Bopa

Zimbabwe: St John’s deputy head resigns after revealing he is gay

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Zimbabwe: St John’s deputy head resigns after revealing he is gay

Leroy Dzenga

Following a week of fierce debate and a lawsuit threat to the school caused by the disclosure of his sexual orientation to pupils at an assembly, St John’s College deputy head (sixth form) Dr Neal Hovelmeier yesterday resigned from his post.

The educator, who last week revealed that he was gay in a bid to pre-empt a newspaper article, released an apologetic statement announcing his departure.

“I have to fully accept that I had no idea of the force of anger and resentment such a declaration would make, but I would like it known that I am a man who has the utmost respect for people who hold strong views along the lines of custom, tradition, religion and other values.

“I am deeply apologetic for any distress I have caused and the manner in which I acted on Friday. I ask for forgiveness and understanding for the magnitude of this insult,” said Hovelmeier.

Hovelmeier, who had been with the affluent boys’ college dubbed “The Green Blazer” for a decade-and-a-half, claimed he was living in danger since he made his sexual orientation known.

“In the past few days, I have unfortunately come under vitriolic attack from various quarters. I have been in receipt of death threats as well as threats of physical danger to myself and my pets,” he said.

On Monday, there was a parents’ meeting at the school to discuss the issue and it was resolved that further independent investigations be made, but Hovelmeier decided not to wait for the outcome.

“It has also been made clear to me that certain stakeholders are not prepared under any circumstances to have me remain in my position at St John’s to the extent that they have launched legal challenges, made ultimatums and vowed under any and all circumstances to see me dismissed, even by means of intimidation and the manufacture of fabricated evidence against me to see me face a wrath of spurious allegations,” Dr Hovelmeier said.

He added: “For my own sense of integrity, I will not submit myself to a sham trial or investigation to these individuals, the outcome of which would have already been determined regardless of actual circumstance.”

The drama tutor said staying in his position had become difficult in the face of backlash.

“It is for this reason, and with a very heavy heart, that I have come to realise that my current position as deputy headmaster is now untenable and I hereby tender my resignation with immediate effect,” he said.

The school’s trust chairman, Charles Msipa, confirmed receiving communication on Hovelmeier’s resignation yesterday through email.

“I am out of town at the moment, but I can confirm that the school sent an e-mail informing us of Hovelmeier’s resignation. I have not yet spoken to anyone directly with regards to the issue, but I can confirm that the school communicated his resignation to us,” Msipa said.

Conservative parents at the school got their way after demanding the tutor’s resignation. They have also called on the headmaster Cav Trinci to relinquish his position for backing Hovelmeier.

The Herald.

The importance of knowledge and transfer of knowledge and skills in Rwanda

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The importance of knowledge and transfer of knowledge and skills in Rwanda
Eden Kironde

The sixteenth edition of Africa’s Pulse released in October last year returned quite unfavourable economic results of the African region.

The biannual appraisal of African economies conducted by World Bank observes that whilst Sub-Sahara Africa boasts of the youngest population in the world and its associated positives including poverty reduction and increased shared prosperity, there are several hurdles in the way of this economic prospect.

Chief among the hurdles are the damning skill levels of Africa’s workforce, the lowest in the world as per the report.

This does not reflect the efforts by the respective governments given an average sevenfold increase over the last three decades in public expenditure on education sector geared towards building skills.

Although in Rwanda more staff are trained and equipped for their respective jobs, there is still some room for improvement.

According to the Rwanda Labour Force Survey Report of February 2018, approximately 70.5 of the employed population are reported to be employees, paid apprentices or interns.

However, of this percentage, only 6.3% are professionals and 1% as technician and associated professionals.

Rwanda Development Board (RDB) empowers the youth through several institutional, grassroots initiatives as part of a broad nationwide institutional infrastructure responsible for developing and supporting the growth of entrepreneurial SMEs.

The objective of the initiative, that mainly targets fresh graduates, is to improve the employability of the youth by providing them with skills working directly with small businesses.

Whilst governments play the leading role to arrest the declining trend of skill levels of the overall workforce, the private sector is not without a part to play.

Among a few East African private sector players that have taken the initiative to grow the region’s skill-base is FBW, an established architectural and engineering building consultancy operating across the region.

Paul Semanda the Country Manager FBW- Rwanda reveals that transfer of technological knowledge is a professional responsibility and forms part of the company’s legacy beyond the projects it undertakes.

“It is part of our Human Resource mandate to share technology and the highest possible standards with the people involved on all the projects we undertake. Talented people are our most precious asset.

We are very active in nurturing the development of young professionals throughout the region.”

FBW Group has taken an active and demonstrable role training and educating in East Africa and Europe. Key members of the company management team including Paul Moores – Group Managing Director, Nigel Tilling – Group Projects Director, and Antje Eckoldt – Group Director and Kenya Country Manager; are part of the external review panels of various East African Universities, developing local capacity and transferring their technical knowledge and skills to university students. Joseph Debuni the Director of Engineering at FBW Uganda has been a guest mentor at University of Rwanda.

An in-house intern program provides university students 3 to 12 months of work experience during which time period they hold active roles and responsibilities experiencing all aspects of FBW.

An in-house Continued Professional Development program also enhances the development of its staff and gives international staff a chance to share their experiences. A flexible working plan for its mid tier and junior staff allows staff to get exposed to different work environments and also makes for stronger training.

Semanda is eulogistic in his assessment of the various programs; “The impact of our internal development programmes has been immense,” he says.

“As the company has grown, they have led to a reduction in expatriate staff and increased responsibilities of local staff at management level with great success. Today almost ten percent of all architects practicing in Uganda have trained with us at some stage of their professional journey.”

One of the most recent results of FBW’s drive to share knowledge has seen one of its staff accepted into the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologist (CIAT), the first person to attain the honour in Africa.

FBW also works in collaboration with the Rwanda Institute of Architects (RIA) and Institution of Engineers, Rwanda (IER) platforms that have enabled the company to further their goal of increasing the local skill-base.

For Sub-Sahara Africa to turn the tables, like the Africa’s Pulse report acknowledges, “sweeping structural reforms that can help ensure that economic growth is anchored on a strong footing” will be required on a continental level across all sectors.

Given the magnitude of the challenge, FBW’s efforts to contribute to the development of the young professionals they interact with may not cause more than a ripple in the East African region, later on the continent, but are wonderfully indicative of the importance of the role the private sector can play to bridge the skills-gap.

 

Melania Trump to promote child welfare in Ghana, Malawi, Kenya, Egypt

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Melania Trump to promote child welfare in Ghana, Malawi, Kenya, Egypt

Associated Press

Melania Trump plans to emphasise child welfare in Ghana, Malawi, Kenya and Egypt in October on her first extended solo international mission. The trip will also be the first ever to the vast African continent by America’s Slovenia-born first lady.

She discussed the trip on Wednesday at a reception for the spouses of foreign leaders and others participating in the annual UN General Assembly.

“October 1 will mark the first day of my solo visit to four beautiful and very different countries in Africa,” Mrs Trump said during brief remarks to several dozen guests attending the event near the UN headquarters.

She said she looks forward to spreading the message of her “Be Best” child-welfare initiative. She launched the campaign in May to focus on overall child well-being, with an emphasis on opioid addiction and online behavior.

The countries on her itinerary work closely with the US Agency for International Development, which is helping organise the trip, she said.

“Whether it is education, drug addiction, hunger, online safety or bullying, poverty or disease, it is too often children who are hit first, and hardest, across the globe,” Mrs Trump said.

“Each of us hails from a country with its own unique challenges, but I know in my heart we are united by our commitment to raising the next generation to be happy, healthy and morally responsible adults.”

She offered no details on her activities in each country during the trip, which spans the first week of October.

The first ladies of Ghana, Malawi and Kenya attended the event and Mrs Trump recognised each one individually. The first lady of Kenya accompanied President Uhuru Kenyatta to the White House in August and she and Mrs Trump met separately from their spouses.

Mark Green, chief of the international development agency, said its maternal and child health programs have helped save the lives of 4.6 million children worldwide, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa. The agency also works on increasing young people’s access to education. He said African primary school enrollment rates increased from 61% to 79% between 2000 and 2014.

“That excites the recovering teacher in me very, very much,” quipped Green, who spoke before Mrs. Trump. Green was a volunteer teacher in Kenya before he was elected to represent Wisconsin in the House and served as US ambassador to Tanzania.

Mrs Trump will travel next week without President Donald Trump, who raised ire across Africa this year after his private complaint about the continent’s “s-hole countries” was leaked to journalists.

Trump later offered a partial denial in public but privately defended his remarks, The Associated Press reported in January. Trump also didn’t deny the comment when he was asked about it while hosting Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari at the White House in April.

Aggressive campaigning

The president further roiled South Africa by subsequently claiming on Twitter that the nation is seizing farms and that high numbers of its farmers are being killed, after he saw a Fox News segment about land issues there. While killings of farmers have been taking place for more than 20 years and are widely seen as part of South Africa’s high crime rate, experts say white farmers have not been the target. Nor are there signs of widespread killings.

Trump said earlier on Wednesday that he and his wife “love Africa”.

While the first lady is carrying out her goodwill mission, the president is expected to be in the midst of aggressive campaigning for November elections in which his Republican Party’s control of both houses of Congress is at stake.

Her only other solo international foray was a September 2017 day trip to Toronto to join Britain’s Prince Harry at an athletic competition he founded for wounded service members and veterans, a constituency both the president and Mrs Trump say they value.

She has accompanied Trump to Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkey, Brussels, France, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and Finland for a July summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. She did not travel with him to Singapore in June for a similar meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un due to medical restrictions on her travel following kidney surgery in mid-May.

 

Coding lessons in a day’s work for all

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Coding lessons in a day’s work for all

Siyabonga Kalipa

Grade 9 learners from schools around Khayelitsha were given some computer skills in a programming workshop held at Luhlaza High School on Saturday.

The learners were given coding lessons, life skills and interacted with invited speakers.

The workshop was run by AmaQawe ngeMfundo, the AfrikaCan Foundation and the Thope Foundation, all non-governmental- organisation(NGOs) .

Dr Fanelwa Ajayi of AmaQawe ngeMfundo said the workshop is to introduce programming to Grade 9 learners.

She said the emphasis was on coding with the goal of encouraging the learners to choose Pure Maths in Grade 10.

“We intend to use coding activities in order to stimulate interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics because these activities are planned to show the importance of Pure Maths in Programming and Coding,” she said.

AfrikaCan foundation’s Athenkosi Nzala said it is always good to give back to their communities, which was what they were doing with the workshop.

“We believe that for black people it is always a need to give back, especially in education and it is nice for children to see successful black people,” he said.

He said they are making available platforms that learners do not necessarily get in their schools and they also want to give hope.

Olwethu Tshingo,14, form Luhlaza High School, said the workshop really helped because he left with a lot of knowledge about coding and life skills.

“I learnt about programming and also the language used when dealing with computers,” he said. Mihle Feleza,15, from Bulumko High, said he now knows what to do in order to become an engineer.

“Attending the workshop was really helpful and hopes it will not be the last one.”

News24

Namibia: Public libraries target 100% access to ICT by 2022

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Namibia: Public libraries target 100% access to ICT by 2022

Albertina Nakale

The Directorate of Namibia Library and Archives Service in the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, targets for all public libraries to have access to computers and internet by the year 2022.

Namibia Library and Archives Service manages a network of 65 public libraries, of which 60 are currently offering free access to computers, and 57 are providing free access to internet in their communities.

Its director, Sarah Negumbo, noted that one of the aims of the ministry of education is to ensure public access to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in all public libraries.

“Public libraries in Namibia are shifting away from the traditional book lending services, to offering different kinds of services, which focuses on community needs, including technology-based information and training services,” she said.

The directorate also announced a new partnership agreement with Electronic Information for Libraries, aimed to strengthen the continuous professional development of librarians at public libraries across the country.

“The partnership agreement with Electronic Information for Libraries has surely arrived at the right time, as it will assist us to capacitate our staff members, to be able to render better services to the library users,” Negumbo said.

She revealed the partnership project commenced as of August this year to April 2020, with the aim of empowering a group of Namibia Library and Archives Service librarians to become trainers, so that they can provide ongoing training within the network of public libraries in Namibia.

During this period, the Namibia Library and Archives Service and Electronic Information for Libraries jointly will assess training needs of the librarians in the library and archives service network.

It will also train a group of 17 trainers who upon completion of the training, will continuously train public librarians in the network and develop a plan for continuous capacity building of Namibia’s public library network.

The trainers will learn generic training skills and knowledge in specific topics, including developing and introducing new technology-based services, re-organising library spaces, change management, using technology to improve existing information services, conducting of library impact studies as well as communications and advocacy.

After the training and mentoring programme conducted by the team, the trainers will begin training other librarians. Negumbo noted the Namibia Library and Archives Service plans to develop a Master Plan for continuous staff training, which will be integrated into the ministry’s Human Resources Development Strategy by the end of the project.

“This is the Electronic Information for Libraries’ first major capacity building activity in Namibia. Digital technology presents major opportunities for libraries to contribute to local and national development and we are really happy to be able to play a role in the exciting changes that are taking place in the Namibian libraries,” said Ramune Petuchovaite, the Public Library Innovation programme Manager.

Namibia Library and Archives Service is mandated to ensure equitable access to knowledge and information for lifelong learning, by creating and maintaining professional expertise and nationwide network of libraries and information centres.

Electronic Information for Libraries works with libraries, to enable access to knowledge in developing and transition economy countries in Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe and Latin America.

No articles for law students at college

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No articles for law students at college

Sharika Regchand

Varsity College has found itself in a quagmire because the KZN Law Society refuses to allow its LLB students to register to serve their articles.

The college contends it has all the relevant accreditation to offer the degree but the society maintains that “only a university” may do so. This follows amendments to relevant legislation that came about last September which no longer classifies Varsity College as a university.

Unable to resolve the dispute, the college’s umbrella body, the Independent Institute of Education, on Tuesday brought an urgent application in the Pietermaritzburg high court.

The higher education institution, which has 21 campuses across the country, wants the law society to review and set aside its decision not to recognise the institution’s LLB degree. If students don’t register with the society to do their articles they can’t become attorneys.

Advocate Andrea Gabriel, SC, argued before Judge Piet Koen that 539 students need to know the court’s decision before the end of September.

This is the closing date for its students to apply to other universities for admission to continue their LLB degrees.

If they get places, they then have to decide whether to terminate their studies at the college.

Gabriel said that the institution is a private higher education institution and universities are public higher education institutions.

It is through the new Higher Education Act that the institution is registered as a private higher education institution and is registered to provide the four-year LLB degree.

She said there is no difference between students studying for the degree at universities and those studying at the institution.

“Why does the law society refuse to recognise the four-year LLB degree provided by the institution?”

She answered that the society’s refusal is because a section of the Attorneys Act requires entrants to the profession to obtain an LLB degree from a “university”.

She said the society contends the institution is not a university because is it not called a university.

“We submit that this is a blinkered and unconstitutional approach,” said Gabriel.

Advocate Thandanani Mthembu, for the society, reiterated that the institution is not a university as contemplated in the Attorneys Act.

He said that the Higher Education Act was amended and these amendments came into effect on September 22 last year.

Prior to this amendment, it classified a “higher education institution” into college, technikon and university.

The National Association of Democratic Lawyers South Africa (Nadel) has argued to be joined as an interested party in these proceedings and await a ruling.

Judgment has been reserved.

News24

Zimbabwe has too many State universities, most add no value to the economy

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Zimbabwe has too many State universities, most add no value to the economy

Staff Reporter

Captains of industry have urged the government to cut on the number of state universities, saying some of them are adding no value to the economy.

Industry representatives who attended a Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ) Business Leaders Conference here recently expressed concern at the quality of graduates coming from the country’s institutions of higher learning.

They said some graduates are ‘useless’ to the industry as they are out of sync with their trades and thus become a burden to the employer.

Speaking at the SAZ 5th conference Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce chief executive officer Chris Mugaga said some universities were adding no value to the economy.

“In terms of the education sector, there are too many state universities in the country,” he said.

“Let’s reduce them and also change the curriculum because a majority of them concentrate of social sciences when the country requires engineers.”

Participants at the conference challenged the education sector to embrace international standards in order to produce competitive graduates.

“The Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology is the foundation of ideas hence should be the centre of research and development,” said one conference delegate.

“The challenge is that students that join the industry don’t properly meet requirements in terms of holistic work.

“Institutions of higher learning should embrace world standards so as not to produce half-baked graduates.”

Some of the county’s state universities include Bindura University of Technology, Chinhoyi University of Technology, Great Zimbabwe University, Gwanda State University, Lupane State University, Midlands State University, University, National University of Zimbabwe among others.

As part of conference resolutions, participants recommended that SAZ should facilitate stronger collaboration with the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology to enforce standards in colleges and universities so that students are better prepared before being released to the industry.

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